Myth Stakes
by Bunny-chan2
Summary: Oh My Goodness!! I ACTUALLY figured out how to upload chapters!! there are now 6 chapter people, please R&R, I need feedback... *whine* and all flames will be fed to my alligator Bob. ^_^
1. Default Chapter

M.Y.T.H. Inc. Morals  
  
Notes and Disclaimer: I don't own the MYTH books. I just like to mess with the story. Also, my writers skills are far cry from almost any fanfiction in this whole site, so don't expect much. If you do, you will be knocked off your feet, into a wall, and then deflated by means of a sharp pin. Get the drift? This will be an insertion later in the fic-- self and friend. So the question is 'what happens when someone gives Fara Mazunaki a few MYTH books and a computer?' the answer, 'Chaos ensues!!'   
  
PS: I certainly hope you're a bit of an anime fan because I'll expect some of my quotes will be from anime charachters. Excuse it please!! ^^;;  
  
  
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Chapter One:  
  
"Sure, money and power are a few of the finer points, but....."  
--Prince John  
  
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It was a beautiful day outside at the Bazaar at Deva. The sun was shining, the Deveels were bargaining, the Pervects were cooking.....Okay, maybe it wasn't such a great day after all. However, i wasn't outside to witness it all. I was stuck in my office, looking over all the papers Bunny had dropped on my desk. I sighed inwardly. This had to be one of those days, didn't it? I had just set my mind to my work when Bunny poked her head in my office.  
  
"Busy Boss?"  
  
"I was--"  
  
"The Great Skeeve will see you now." came from outside my door and a figure entered. I sighed inwardly again. "Sometimes I wonder if it's just luck..." I grumbled to myself, then looked up at the figure who was standing in front of me. And was struck by the sudden urge to laugh.  
  
You see, the Bazaar is a demon (short for dimension traveler) crossing area. In fact, almost every type of demon could be seen here. Now, I've run into my fair amount of strage beings. Like octopus-like beings I've run into (literally) not to mention my staff. A Pervect, a troll, a trollop, and a dragon. And that's just the odd half!!   
  
But to get back on track, I'd never run across a demon like the one that stood before me. He was about 6'7 ft tall, and he had dark blue eyes that blazed. Now, that wasn't the unusual part. The unusual part was that he was furry. Dark brown, short fur to be exact, with messy black hair, and a tail the same shade. Not to mention a pair of ears that strongly suggested 'bat'. At a second glance, they seemed to suggest more 'elf/cat' than anything else. I accepted that answer for my thoughts, and decided not to bother him with the question that had immediatly popped into my mind. Which was undoubtedly 'What dimension are you from?' I put on my best buisnessman smile and motioned to the unoccupied seat across from me.   
  
The man surveyed me closely. He semed to be sizing me up, and I bristled as I realized this, but calmed down when he sat down. The being smiled, and I caught a quick glimpse of his teeth. His canines resembled a cat's, and were quite pointy.   
  
"So, you are the great Skeeve?" the being asked. I smiled. How perceptive of him.   
  
"Yes. So, what is your problem that I can assist you with?"   
  
The cat/elf being's tail bristled. "Who says I have a problem?!"  
  
"You came to us. So either you have a problem or you really like wasting our time."  
  
Well, one thing was for sure. This guy wasn't the brightest light in the harbor. I smiled at that thought as the being situated himself more comfortably in his chair and opened his mouth to begin talking. I held up my hand to silence him momentarily.  
  
"First off, what's your name?"  
  
The man smiled again. If I hadn't been used to seeing my paertner Aazh's toothy grin, I would have found this quite unnerving. However, this man's teeth looked fairly docile to my Pervect partner's.  
  
"My name is Jameet. Now, I have a little job that I would like you to oversee--"   
  
I cut him off again. "My time is valuable. I might send one of my accociates on the job...." At this, Jameet cut me off, rising angrily from his chair.  
  
"Maybe you will if you want to lose your accociates! Now will you listen to me already?!"  
  
I was taken back a bit by this outburst. Not many people dared to yell at the Great Skeeve, and in a way this man reminded me much of my first visit to the Bazaar, when I had aquired my pet dragon Gleep. I smiled and nodded, and the man sat down and began his oration.  
  
"There are two beings on the loose in my home dimension of Wicc that we need you to capture. The first one, a fellow Wiccen by the name of Fara, must be caught alive. The second one, a Deveel theif by the name of Finch, who helped her escape, may be brought either dead or alive. They are both quite trained in magic though, and--"  
  
I cut the man off again. From the word 'escape' I figured they must have ben on the run from the law. In other words.... "First off, why not have the police capture them? Secondly, if I do decide to take this job, how much money are we talking?"  
  
Jameet scowled at me, and his ears twitched slightly. "First off, the police have tried. Half of them were burned to a chrisp, and the other half are spending their days as statues. Secondly, I'm willing to pay, oh, roughly 50000 in gold if you manage to get the job done and come back alive."  
  
At this point my jaw hit the floor. Not only was this adventure beginning to sound like something to expand my knowlegde and expreience with, FIFTY THOUSAND IN GOLD!!! Now, I know this may seem a bit daft to you, especially seeing the disaster that happened after, but fifty thousand in gold!! No one trained by Aazh could possibly pass up a sweet deal like this. I jumped out of my seat and knocked the chair backwards in the process of doing so. I extended my hand and began to shake Jameet's wildly.  
  
"You've got a deal!!" 


	2. Chapter 2

Myth Stakes  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the MYTH books. Don't bother sueing me, all it will get you is a broken pencil and some spider webs. And again, I'm not a good writer!!! Don't expect anything!! If I was a good writer, I wouldn't be posting on FF.net, I'd be getting a publisher!!  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Good doggie....nice doggie...."   
--Random mailman  
  
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"WHAT?!!"  
  
That was my partner Aazh. He had been in a state of complete shock when I told him how much money was involved, and snapped out of it as soon as I mentioned 'Serriune'.   
  
"You didn't just say Serriune, did you?" Aazh pleaded, "Not the Serriune ruled by Philloniel...?"   
  
I blinked. "Yes, why Aazh? Do you know this Philloniel guy?"  
  
It immediatly occured to me that that hadn't been the smartest thing to say. Aazh was visible attempting to keep his composure, which was the strangest thing in this conversation. Usually he would just blow his top and that would (I suppose) make him feel better.   
  
"Listen Kid..." Aazh began, "Philloniel and I go back. Just like Isstvan and I go back. Get the picture?"   
  
I cringed inwardly. Isstvan was not someone who's memory remained dear to either Aazh or I. But now, that was beside the point.  
  
"Well, I can just refuse his offer..."  
  
Aazh cut me off. "Kid, we're at the Bazaar at Deva! You know, the place that's run by the merchant's society? WE COULD GET KICKED OUT FOR GOING BACK ON AN AGREEMENT!!!!!" he shouted, picking me up byt the front of the shirt and pushing me against the wall. Somehow, I remained calm.  
  
"Aazh, most people argue better when they can breath and their feet are on the ground..." I pointed out. Aazh dropped me. This wasn't as bad as it sounded, because I caught myself with a levetation spell before I hit the floor. Aazh was brooding, however, and didn't notice.  
  
"I don't beleive you got us into this..." he muttered, then turned a steely gaze on me.   
  
"Skeeve, you are going to have to go on this expedition. You know that, right?"   
  
I nodded mutely. Of course I had to go. I had gotten us into this mess. However, even as the Great Skeeve, I knew Aazh wouldn't let me go to a new dimension alone.   
  
"And, of course, Tanda, Chumley,Massha, those two moronic bodyguards of yours and I are coming along."  
  
This I took as an insult. "What, don't you think i can handle myself?" I asked loftily. Aazh fixed me with a glare I gulped and backed down from.   
  
"Listen Kid," he snarled, "We're going to Wicc. If we're talking about the same Philloniel, his purse strings are tighter than even Grimble's were. In other words..." Aazh's voice dropped, "Even he would rather hire someone to do this job than do it himself."   
  
A thought struck me. "Hey Aazh," I began carefully, "If you and Philloniel are enemies, couldn't this be a trap for you?"   
  
To my suprise, Aazh laughed. "We're more rivals than enemies. He's done well for himself, so he naturally feels he's the one on top. Besides, although we like to play quite cruel pranks on each other as often as we can, and both love to annoy the bloody hell out of each other, Old Phil isn't one to set a trap. He prefers a decent setup if he wants to finish off anyone..." Aazh suddenly trailed off, and his face grew dark.   
  
"But just in case, we'll have to be on our guard."   
  
Great. Just great. I resolved to run all buisness offers through Aazh and Tanda before accepting anything. It seemed that those two had more links than I could possiby imagine.  
  
Aazh grinned. "Well, kid, looks like we're in for it this time! I'll go gather the troups, you wait here."  
  
Aazh dissappeared around the corner, and I suddenly found myself wondering if I would ever outgrow my habit of attracting trouble and adventures..... 


	3. Chapter 3 (duh..)

Myth Stakes  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but a bottle of IBC, which I am currently downing. Therefore sueing me will account to nothing. The Myth series belongs to Robert Asprin, not me, and this story is just for fun. IN OTHER WORDS I'M NOT MAKING ANY DAMNED MONEY OFF IT!!!!  
  
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"The funny thing about travel is that we usually don't cross our fingers and hope that we come out of it alive, but that we survive each other on the way there."   
-Jack  
  
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Looking around me in Wicc, I surmised a few things right off the bat. First off, although this was an out-of-the-way dimension, it seemed that demons were common anyways. One out of every 8 people I saw were demons, and some looked like demon crosses. There was even a Khlad!  
  
However, I seemed to be the only one marveling about the local people, as Aazh set pace immediatly for a castle. I followed, looking around at all the bustling streets. After all, Aazh was the one who knew Philloniel, and it seemed that Chumley and Tanda had met him once as well. Aazh began some little lecture on the dangers of this particular dimension, and I stopped listening, thinking about the money we would be making on this venture...and, more importantly, weither or not we'd get to spend it.  
  
Caught up in these thoughts, my eyes began to wander, and fell on a bowman. Alright, so he was a bowman, I though to myself, Why was I still looking at him? Well, the answer became clear enough, as he hadn't noticed that I had spotted him and drew one of his arrows...pointed at us!  
  
The bowman let fly and, without even thinking about it, I exerted my energy to stop it in midair. It clattered on the cobblestone street. My group members all turned to me in shock, especially Massha, whom the arrow would have hit.  
  
"Wha-- how.." Guido stuttered intelligently. "Hah...you..." Nunzio added. I ignored them for the moment, turning back to where the bowman had been.  
  
He had vanished.  
  
Aazh went over and picked up the arrow in suspicion. He relaxed immediatly as soon as he got a closer look at it.  
  
"It wasn't anyone of this dimension, that's for sure." Aazh noted, grinning, "Which is good news for us."  
  
"Good news?!" I yelped, "Someone just tried to kill one of us!" Aazh grinned at that.  
  
"Yes, but they're freelance. If it had been one of Phil's hencemen, it would have been an enchanted arrow. Which means we wouldn't have been that lucky."  
  
All of this at once had started to make my head spin. Massha had been quiet, but she finally said something.  
  
"I guess we--I--was lucky then.." she noted, "And for only one reason really. If Skeeve here had been paying attention to your lecture Aazh, he wouldn't have caught that arrow..."  
  
"We're here." Aazh said, abruptly changing the subject. We had resumed walking, and we were now at the doors to the castle. Aazh knocked several times, and when the door finally opened, between the forth and fifth knocks, Aazh couldn't stop his fist and knocked once on the doorman's head. This got a giggle out of Tanda, and I tried to keep a straight face. After all, we hadn't been wearing disguises, but noone had said anything about it or looked at us funny. So I took the doorman's reaction a bit hard until I realized it had been directed at the members of our party he did know, e.i. Aazh, Tanda and Chumley.   
  
To get back on track, the look he gave us was of pure disgust. His voice was slightly nasal and very sarcastic.   
  
"Well well, if it isn't the infamous Pervert Aazh," the man sneered, "And the troll-trollop team. What in the nine hells are you doing here?" The wiccen suddenly looked behind Aazh and Tanda, "And who's the small-stuff Khlad?"  
  
I bristled at those comments. However, I didn't get a chance to answer, as Aazh began snarling the answer before I got to.   
  
"Thats Pervect, and this is the one you called for, The Great Skeeve! Any questions?!"  
  
The Wiccen immediatly blanched.   
  
"I beg pardon...The Great Skeeve....I...I had no idea...." he stuttered, bowing. I smirked at the image he presented.   
  
"Now, if you're quite through, " I said loftily, "We seek audience with Prince Philloniel."  
  
The Wiccen got up. "Follow me." He turned and led us down a hall, and into a vast chamber.  
There was a throne front and center, and Prince Philloniel sat on it... 


	4. Chapter 4 (I am really lacking creativit...

Myth Stakes  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Oh, wait! I do own something here! =) *choir starts singing* *someone kills the conductor and everything is quiet* I own Philloniel, and all other charachters that have never appeared in the MYTH series. ^^ yay!! However, i don't own the MYTH series. Everyone agree? Good...^-^  
  
  
  
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"I need all the facts before I take this assignment."  
-S. Homes  
  
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Philloniel looked different than I had picture him. I had picture him to be like Isstvan, cheery but completely mad. Philloniel looked worn and worried, but brightened up a bit as we entered.  
  
"Aazh! Tananda and Chumley!" he exclaimed, punctuating this observation with a clap, "So you're with the great Skeeve as well? It looks like the kingdom might be saved after all!"  
  
"Saved? From what?" I yelped automatically. Philloniel looked at me, smiling. "So, you must be the great Skeeve. It's an honor to meet you." he said, smiling.  
  
Aazh cut in at that moment. "Okay Philloniel, let's go down to buisness. If you need someone's help for this it has to be big. So spill. What are the extra details?"  
  
Philloniel sighed. "Well Aazh, it's actually quite a long story, so I'll spre you the details you'll be able to figure out on your own. You remember Fara, right?"  
  
Aazh laughed. "Fara? You mean that girl you wanted to be your queen? Cheerful but upset-her-and-you'll-be-missing-a-head Fara? Of course I remember her! Why?"  
  
Philloniel sighed again, heavier. "She ran away again."  
  
Aazh grinned, seeming relieved. I personally had no idea what was going on at that moment, but hell, I might as well pick up what I could.  
  
"She ran away!" Aazh echoed, "You called us for just that? Sure the girl knows magik well enough, but still, what could she do against us? Moreover, against me?"  
  
Philloniel's frown deepened as Aazh talked. He finally spoke again. "Aazh! It's not that simple! She's an apprentice now! Do you know who to?"  
  
"Not if you don't tell me."  
  
"Remember Finch?"  
  
Aazh blanched. "Finch...."  
  
Philloniel smiled sadonically. "Yes, that Finch. Vampire? Quite up there in magic? He offered to teach Fara more magik than she knows already, AND he offered her the chance to escape this arranged marrage! Like she'd refuse!"  
  
Aazh sat down on the nearest chair. "Philloniel, you never told me. Why is it so incredibly important that you don't just cansel this marrage?"  
  
Philloniel smirked. "Officially, I'd be lynched by all the villagers. All the townspeople, hell, everyone loves the idea of having a queen as forgiving as Fara. Especially with her at my side, they all assume that she'll persuade me to cut taxes and do all other sorts of good." Philloniel let out a sharp bark of laughter. "My ass."  
  
Aazh suddenly grinned. "They don't know Fara very well, do they?" he asked, "Sure, she's kind and caring, and would put herself between anyone she cares about and whatevers coming their way, but cut taxes? Fara? Yeah right!" Philloniel nodded. "I should say not. If they knew her like we do in the finance department, they'd praise me for letting her run away instead of spreading rumors that she loves Finch." Philloniel made a face. "There is also another reason. If I don't marry Fara and she doesn't bear an heir, the throne goes to my cousin. And what a disaster that would be..." Philloniel shuddered, then looking over at Aazh, added, "You've met him. My cousin Genzo?"  
  
"What?!" Aazh shouted, his voice rising a few octaves.  
  
"Funny, that's what i said."  
  
"And unofficially?" Tanda piped up. Philloniel groaned. "I forgot. I've got to stop letting myself slip like that...especially with Tananda around.." he grumbled, "Unofficially is none of your buisness. It concerns only my feelings."  
  
Tanda nodded. "That's what I thought." she said, "So, if she's escaped with this heavy-hitter vampire, how do we know she's still in this dimension?"   
  
Philloniel grinned. "A spell i cast. Fara can't travel dimensions unless I'm with her, and only i can remove the spell." he answered. Aazh nodded thoughtfully.  
  
"First good idea you've had Phil."   
  
"Watch it pervert. I'm in a nasty mood because of this."  
  
"Hey, we're buisnessmen here! No sabatoging!"  
  
Philloniel grinned. "If I were you I'd check out all of the inns in Atals. It's the country next Wicc. You know Finch and Fara, Aazh. Search them out. I need to find her, and i need to get Finch on my side...." Philloniel looked away from out group. "There is one more reason I need them BOTH back..."  
  
"What is that?" I asked, genuinely curious.  
  
"If Fara does come back, Genzo is going to declare war on me with an army he found in some backwater dimension.....and I'm going to need Finch's help repelling it." 


	5. Gee, what chapter number might come afte...

Myth Stakes  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing you think I don't. 'Owning is an illusion. The illusion is our reality. Where is the ambiguity in this? It's over there, in a box. So, if the ambiguity's in the box, where is the truth? Is the truth the ambiguity? Or is the truth, as Hanncock observed, in the box? No, there's no room, the ambiguity's put on weight. So where is the truth? Vacationing in the Florida Keys. And the ambiguity? Suffering from closterphobia. The truth and ambiguity are also illusions then, I suppose." --REAL quote from Monty Python's Flying Circus. ^^  
  
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"Nearest bar please, Jim..."  
--Pope John Paul the second  
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Aazh's gaze leveled on Philloniel. "You got yourself in deep this time, didn't you Phil?" he finally asked. Phil nodded slowly.  
  
"So, will you guys help me out on this?"  
  
Aazh grinned. "I'm only helping because I owe you. And because you're offering to pay us a ridiculous sum of money. Of course, when the job is evaluated the job is really worth that much money. After all, we want to come out of it alive, and with a decent reward, don't we?"  
  
Philloniel grinned back. "Now there's the Aazh I know." he chuckled, "Well, be off with you then. And good luck!"   
  
Everyone turned to leave but me. I had my gaze levely on Philloniel, and he looked back at me, equally calm. However, i could see mild curiosity blooming on his features as he asked me what was wrong. I scowled as I answered.  
  
"Prince Philloneil, I'm suprised my colleges didn't mention something that happened on the way here. You see, a bowman tried to take out my apprentice." I could see horror spreading over Philloniel's face as I continued. I also felt Aazh walking up behind me, but I went on regardless. "I was assured that it wasn't one of your men because the arrow would have been enchanted and my spell wouldn't have stopped it. However, I fail to understand one thing. If it wasn't you, who was it?"  
  
Aazh put his hand on my shoulder. I glanced back at him, and he actually seemed alright. Not mad at me at least. Philloniel was leaning forward in his chair, and looked up at Aazh, confusion etched over his features. Confusion mingled with fear.   
  
"Is this true Aazh?"  
  
"Yes. I believe we can both deduce who it was."  
  
Philloneil and my partner stared levely at each other. "Genzo." They stated in unison. Aazh smiled grimly. "We'll be on our guard. You watch out yourself Philloneil. That cousin of yours is more blood thirsty than a Deveel is gold thirsty." he noted. Philloneil nodded.   
  
"Take care of yourselves, and good luck."  
  
  
As we walked out of the castle, the first thing I did was put a force shield around us. It was no problem keeping it up, because the force lines were plentiful in this dimension. Actually, with the ammount of power the Wiccens had at their disposal I was surprised that so few seemed to be interested in magic. Aazh looked over at me.   
  
"Well Kid, I have a very good idea as to how we are going to go about finding Finch and Fara. The tricky part will be convincing them to come back with us. Hey, Massha?" Aazh rounded to my apprentice.   
  
"Yeah Green and Scaly?"  
  
"Do you have that ring, the one that helps you track people?"   
  
"Of course!" Massha waggled the appropriate finger.   
  
Aazh grinned and drew something out of his pocket. it was a small pendant on a silver chain. The pendant had a red gem in the middle that seemed to make light dance through its center.   
  
"Use your ring to find the true owner of this." Aazh stated, "Fara'll be wanting it back when we find her."   
  
I glanced over at Aazh. "So you know both the people involved?" I asked. Aazh looked over at me. He took a while to answer-- the look on his face read that he was thinking, not about his answer, but about something that had happened with the people we were talking about.  
  
"Yes, I do. Quite well." he answered finally, "Fara and Finch are old aquaintences. And I'm sure Fara won't fight me--Finch might though. He's pretty good in the magic department, kid."  
  
"Oh." I answered, lacking anything better to say.   
  
"Hey, don't worry about it Skeeve!" Tanda said suddenly from my left, "I've got you covered!"  
  
"Yeah Skeeve, and behind her there's me." Massha added from my right. Guido and Nunzio nodded. "Yeah, an' you've got us two backing ya up also, Boss." Guido supplied helpfully. Aazh grinned. "Hey, what about me?" he asked. Chumley nodded in agreement. "Yes Skeeve, where brute strength is involved, count me in for some action!" he smiled.  
  
I turned to the gang, smiling in a relieved way. "Hey, thanks guys." I said. Aazh grinned.   
  
"Hey, that's the least you deserve. Besides, I suppose we all need to make sure we have a reason we shouldn't run away right about now."   
  
Somehow this statement didn't make me feel any better. Tanda pulled out the D-hopper. I looked at her.   
  
"What do we need that for?"  
  
Tanda grinned, looking over at Massha.   
  
"Well, you gave me the idea a while back. Remember, using the D-hopper to travel to different places in the same dimension? Well, if we hold that ring and the D-hopper close enough, the ring sets the coardinates on the D-hopper magickally. Which means..." Tanda's eyes glittered, "We'll end up where Finch and Fara are!"  
  
I blinked. Twice.   
  
"Wow." I noted. Tanda held the ring close to the D-hopper, and she was right. The dials began spinning, landing on coardinates for, yes, definatly somewhere in Wicc! There was a flash of light and my surroundings reformed themselves.  
  
I looked around. We were standing in the middle of a rather dingy looking bar. The waiter looked over at us.  
  
"Would you like to order a drink?" he asked politely. I shook my head. "We're here on buis--"  
  
"Drinks?! Of course! We'd love to order drinks!" Aazh exclaimed, cutting me off and boxing my ears, a fair warning that I should be keeping my mouth shut.  
  
We sat down and began ordering. Aazh looked over the wine menu to me.   
  
"Check for auras. Without a doubt it'll be fara and Finch--they're known to well to walk around without disguises." he whispered. I nodded and began looking at everyone in the room. My eyes fell on a young girl--another Wiccen, about 12 years old. She had an aura. I poked Aazh and pointed to her. Aazh smiled. "Good job kid. Just watch her for a little bit. See that bat?" he whispered again. I looked back over at the girl. Yes, there was a bat on her shoulder--which suddenly struck an idea in my head. I scaned the bat for a aura and yes, it had one. Aazh nodded. "Finch." he whispered. "Just watch them for a little bit..."  
  
So I did. It got interesting almost immediatly. The bat, which looked more like a little ball of black fuzz with wings, began zooming around and around Fara's head. She was visibly getting ticked off. "Quit it." she grumbled, "You're drawing attention to us." The bat squeaked, and flew around some more. "I said quit it!!!" Fara shouted. I saw her close her eyes for concentration quickly, and a patch of the bat's fur caught on fire. The bat let out a loud squeak and dived head first into a tankard of beer. Fara snickered. The bat crawled out of the tankard. If bats could glare, this would be the mother of them all. The bat squeaked again. This time it latched itself onto the back of Fara's shirt and began pulling her out the door. The battle went as follows--  
  
"Hey you little--let me go!! I'm not done with my beer yet!!"  
  
"Squeak squeak!!"  
  
"I don't care!! You're the one who started it anyways!!"  
  
"Squeak squeak!!!"  
  
"Did too!!"  
  
At this point the bat--quite strong, as I had noticed it's ablity to drag Fara out although she was about 50 times his size while he was in this form, had managed to drag Fara out the door. Aazh stood up and started after them, and the rest of us followed suit.   
  
We walked out the door, and spotted Fara and the bat. They both stopped dead at the sight of Aazh. The bat actually fell out of the air. Fara made a move to catch him but rethought it and pulled back at the last moment, so the bat fell on his head. He let out a squeak of indignance.   
  
"A-Aazh..?!" Fara stuttered, "W-what are you doing here?!" 


	6. Chapter 6! (Joy! Rapture! OW!)

Myth Stakes  
  
Disclaimer: Insert your own witty disclaimer here.  
  
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"Waaaaait a minute......what can this Oz guy do that I can't on my own?"  
-Dorothy  
  
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"Hey Fara, Finch, long time no see! Now, why don't you drop the disguises--secrecy doesn't become either of you."  
  
The bat's form melded and changed, growing in size and finally forming the shape of a human. Er, actually, a vampire. I could only tell because of the bloodshot eyes, which Finch hid quickly by pulling a pair of sunglasses out of his vest pocket, and putting them on. Finch grinned. "Hey Aazh, great to see ya! What's chillin'?" Aazh grinned back.   
  
"You'll see later."   
  
I glanced over at Fara and found that I couldn't turn my gaze away. She no longer looked like a 12 year old, but a 15 or 16 year old Wiccen. Her tail was waving in anticipation and her Wiccen ears, which resembled a cat's so very much were lowered in annoyance. However, my gaze was drawn to what she was wearing, or rather, lack thereof. She was only wearing a white tank top and a white tunic that was so short it barely even covered....  
  
I looked back over at Finch and Aazh, who had been discussing something while I was staring at Fara. They were now frowning at each other, Finch with a look of cold determination in his eyes.  
  
"No deal Aazh. This means to much to Fara, and myself, to just throw in the towel and go back to that selfish brat Prince."  
  
Aazh looked over at Fara. "Fara, does he always make your desicions for you, or is this a special time when something that affects your future so gravely you don't get to decide on?" Fara stood in silence, looking at Aazh.  
  
"Alright, you've told me that Phil wants me to come back. We know he does. But why does he want Finch to come back with me? I smell a rat. Or rather, a pervert. What's going on Aazh?" she asked bluntly.   
  
Aazh sighed. "I wanted to see how badly you two wanted to stay on the run, but I might as well tell you now. If Fara doesn't become Philloniel's wife, Genzo is going to take the throne. And he'll probably try to take control of not only the people of Serriune, but the other countries surrounding it. And if you do decide to return, Fara...." Aazh fixed his gaze steadily on the Wiccen, who's tail was trembling at the moment, "Genzo will declare war on Serriune."  
  
This statement was followed by an echo of "WHAT??!!" from Finch and Fara. Aazh smiled grimly. "That's the reaction I expected." he noted. Fara and Finch looked at each other.   
  
"Hold on a sec..." Finch muttered and walked a few feet away to discuss thier answer. I could see that Finch and Fara were definatly both upset, but on their return they seemed more sure of themselves.  
  
"We'll need a night to think this over," Finch said, "How about we stay in an inn? It'll be free, the owner owns fara a favor or two." Fara elbowed Finch in the stomach, and he shut up rather quickly.   
  
"Come on." she said, "Follow me." Fara began walking torwards the outskirts of town. The rest of us followed, not sure what to expect when we came to this inn the two 'fugitives' knew so well..... 


End file.
